In death is a new life
by SakuNya
Summary: Death has taken hold of Sasuke and he finally goes to rest in peace in what he assumes is eternal darkness. However, the trip to the afterlife is not as some people say it is. The real journey begins in the afterlife. Sasuke-centric. Rated M to be safe.
1. Prologue

Hello there dear FF readers! It is me again, SakuNya! And, I have a new story for my readers. It is Sasuke-centric, so not really any other characters will pop up in the story. I hope you all enjoy this new story and leave me tons of reviews!

Summary: Death has taken hold of Sasuke and he finally goes to rest in peace in what he assumes is eternal darkness. However, the trip to the afterlife is not as some people say it is. The real journey begins in the afterlife.

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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**In death is a new life**

**Prologue**

"_I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking."_

_-Carl Sagan_

Black.

Darkness.

Loneliness.

Nothingness.

All these things remind people of what awaits them at death's doors. The void. An eternal blankness, a wandering through nothing. Nothing.

What a word 'nothing' is. Because the definition of 'nothing' is exactly that; nothing. However, the moment we think of nothing, it becomes something; a thought, an idea, SOMETHING. So, if death is nothing, then it must potentially be something. There must be something other than nothing when our lives end in this world.

So, when Sasuke was faced with death, he really didn't know what to expect. At first, it was exactly how he thought it would be. Floating within a void.

_So this is death, huh? _He thought as he floated through the darkness surrounding him. _I have to admit, it is… peaceful. _

He didn't know if he closed his eyes or not, he couldn't tell because he couldn't see the difference in dimness, he couldn't feel if he did close them. All he knew was that he was at peace. No sound entered his ears, if he even had any. He couldn't feel his limbs, if he had any. No, he couldn't feel a lot of things. All he had were his thoughts to tell him he was in some form still there. Wherever 'there' was.

For a fleeting moment, he thought he had felt the lightest of touches to his cheeks, again if he had any. But when he tried to concentrate on that light brush, he couldn't feel it. So, he did his best to relax and forget everything he had done in his past life. Perhaps he would be rewarded by forgetting it completely and start a new life. Being a new person, an animal, some form of life, somewhere in some world.

There it was again; that light touch to his cheeks. He opened his eyes (or at least that's what he thinks he did) and looked around in front of him. Nothing.

No, there was something. There in the distance in front of him, if distance even existed. It looked like a very faint faraway light. _Light at the end of the tunnel? _He thought sarcastically. Maybe he was being reborn. Perhaps his new mother is giving birth to him and the light is the opening of her birth canal.

But that didn't make sense to him. He wouldn't have remembered such a thing from being a baby or even have coherent thoughts. So, it couldn't be that could it? Or perhaps that's what is was, but was granted his memories of his past life one last time before he reached that light, in his new mother's embrace, and, perhaps, only then would he forget who he was and remember a coherent thought in only years to come.

However, if this was a birth canal, however stupid that sounded, shouldn't he feel pressure, moistness, something pushing him to the light? And if so, the light should be coming closer, clearer. But it stayed there, suspended far away above him.

Sasuke did the only thing he thought would bring him closer to that light; he wiled his limbs to move.

_Damnit! _He cursed mentally, glad that he still had emotions. He tried to move his left arm, wherever it was, he couldn't feel it, he couldn't see it. He just couldn't make it budge.

Leaving his arm alone for now, he tried to see. If there was light streaming through, then he should be able to see even if only a little. He concentrated on keeping his eyes locked on to that tiny little dot above him. And he realized his head shifted as he did this! So, shifting his head little by little to his left, he could faintly see the outline of his arm.

He thought about moving. _Move your index finger, move your index finger, move your index finger… _he thought, reciting the phrase like a mantra, concentrating on the outline of his digit.

_Twitch. _

His index twitched. And it was like a switch making a whole system hum to life. His whole body gave a jolt and he moved his limbs freely. But at the same time, he felt like he was sinking. As he moved around, he realized that the touches to his cheeks he had felt before was his hair, waving lightly around his head, as if it were underwater. The moment he thought that, a few small bubbles floated up towards the dim light.

And he realized he wasn't breathing, and that realization made him feel excruciating pain in his lungs and in his throat, as well as the intense and urgent need for oxygen.

His limbs propelled him towards the light, despite his sore muscles, the adrenalin in his body made him keep moving forward. He didn't stop. He just swam for dear life (no pun intended) to the light that was growing stronger and brighter above him.

His pace was slow, his arms and legs could've screamed in agony. He almost felt like just dying all over again in the dark depths of the water he was in. He told himself there was no way he would reach the surface before the need for air overtook him.

No! He had to believe that he could, he had to swim up to the light, no matter how much energy it took from him, no matter how sore his muscles were, he simply had to get out! He forced his legs to kick harder, his arms to flail faster, ordered his lungs to keep working until the refreshing oxygen would enter them.

He was so close, there were mere meters in front of him, he could feel the gentle caress of sunlight on his skin, the warmth that it brought with it. The knowledge that he was going to get out of the nothingness around him was enough to push him to his very last limit.

He could reach it! He could almost grasp it and…

Sasuke's head burst from the water, and he breathed for the first time in the afterlife.

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To be continued…

I hope this story will be liked by many, because I already hold it dear in my heart.

Reviews please!


	2. Chapter 1

So I wanted to post the prologue and the first chapter that way you could really get a taste of what it will really be like. Hope you enjoy the first chapter!

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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**Chapter 1: The mirror gate**

"_The heavens will not be filled with those who never made mistakes but with those who recognized that they were off course and who corrected their ways to get back in the light of gospel truth."_

_-__Dieter F. Uchtdorf_

The air shot into Sasuke's lungs the moment his head had burst from the water. He panted hard, laboured breaths, coughing every now and then. His next instinct telling him to reach the shore, if there was one close by such deep waters. But, only a few feet in front of him was the rim of what looked to be a circular ledge. The raven grabbed onto it and hulled himself over as best as he could in his weakened state.

As he plopped down on the ground before him, he came to the realization that he wasn't wearing any clothes; he was as naked as the day he was born. He cursed mentally as cold wind hit his wet body and shivered profusely. His teeth clattered together as he rolled up in a tight ball, trying to gather heat from his body.

The raven was exhausted from the swim up to the surface, so he didn't even take time to look at his surroundings before going into another, deep slumber.

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"_Kaa-san?"_

_The woman in question turned her gaze to her son. If it would be about 'him', she was sure that she would disappoint him with the answer that she'd give him._

_They had received the news that 'he' had passed the first gate, and the child was now as eager as every to meet 'him'. _

_He had her full and undivided attention._

"_What is it, sweetie?" _

_The young boy looked at his mother excitedly as he asked her the question that had been on his mind for some time now._

"_Is he here yet?"_

_The child's mother smiled a genuine smile as she answered her son's inquiry. Of course it was about 'him'. _

"_Well, he's crossed the first gate, but he's not going to be here for some time now." She saw a flash of disappointment in her little boy's eyes, his head lowered. "But don't worry, HE is looking after him, making sure he passes the other gates, and your brother will help him out."_

_The child lifted hopeful eyes to his mother and gave the biggest smile you could dream of. _

"_Good!"_

_His mother laughed at him and ruffled his hair. The boy leapt up and ventured out to the garden._

_He was so excited about the fact the 'he' had crossed the first gate, and was even more so knowing that he'll be seeing him, meeting him for the first time in… a very long while. He had always imagined him tall and strong looking, scary even, but not overly so. No one ever talked about 'him', because it would only bring more unanswered questions. They never questioned HIM and his doings. They had always been confident that HE would bring 'him' to them one day or another. _

_But it had been so long, it felt like centuries, millennia even, had passed and they had yet to hear from 'him'. And what's worse is that nobody ever mentioned 'his' name. Did they even know what 'his' name was? If so, why would they never tell him, the child wondered. _

_But it had finally come! The day 'he' would arrive! And the child was so happy now, but he still had a while to wait, but what were a few more days? He could handle it; he had for so long, so this is nothing!_

"_Innocence!" _

_At the call of his name, the boy sprinted into his home, finding his mother in the dining room._

"_Lunch is ready" she said with a beautiful smile as her son sat down and made his prayers before eating. _

"_Thank you, Kami-Sama, for this meal…"_

_And the prayer went on, and as the last words were spoken, the boy added a silent wish:_

'_Make sure 'he' passes through the gates safely'._

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Sasuke awoke with a small start, the remnants of his dream disappearing in the deepest corners of his mind. All he remembered of his scattered dream was… something. What was it? He knew he could remember a faint name or word in his mind, the problem was 'what'? He knew it had something to do with a sentiment or a quality or something of the sort. Happiness? Kindness? Nope, he definitely forgot, and it would bother him for a long time and he knew it.

The young Uchiha also had the feeling that his dream was about something important, but he didn't know for sure. And he had the eerie feeling that he was somehow being… watched. _I must be going insane. It's probably just the lack of oxygen that made me have this… gut feeling. _He would ignore it for now and take it as nothing and hopefully it would go away, turning out to be nothing but a dream, an illusion.

Now that he was fully awake and much less shaken, still a little cold from lack of clothing, but feeling better none the less, he took some time to look at where he had emerged from. Getting up with shaky legs, Sasuke looked at the small pit of water which had a circular, large stoned ledge surrounding. The pit was at least 3 meters wide and the water… _What the hell…? _He knew for a fact that he was dead and in the afterlife, however it still amazed him that he was seeing what he was seeing. The water had a pale blue and pink hue to it. It was a magical combination of colours.

The raven then turned his attention to the sky above him, covering his eyes a little as the sunlight hit him in the face. The sky also had the same mixture of colours and they were arranged in almost swirl-like patterns around the center where a bright sun -or what he assumed was one- shone brilliantly. Wisps of clouds had the same circular patterns around the middle. But what made the sky even more spectacular were the billions upon billions of stars drifting through it, despite it seeming to be midday.

Sasuke couldn't help but gasp slightly as he took it in. There was no longer any doubt that he was in the afterlife. How could anything as extraordinary and unearthly as this be in the world of the living? Unless some one had thrown him into a genjustsu, but if that was so, he would probably be out of it by now.

Come to think of it, how did he die? He knew he was dead, he had known it the moment he woke up in that watery nothingness. But, he didn't remember just how he died. He remembered his life, all of it, or nearly all of it, since he couldn't recall his death. So why was it that it was just blankness after the last day he remembered? The last day… He was fighting that Obito guy that had turned into the Jubi's Jinchuriki. Naruto and Sakura had been by his side, and then...

Blankness.

_Damnit! Why the hell can't I remember!? _The raven ran his hands through his hair in frustration. All he was asking for was to know how he ended up dying for fuck sake! Was that such a hard request to grant? It seemed like it!

He saw something in the corner of his eye that caught his attention. Around the pit of water were tall trees, glistening slightly with what looked to be crystals in their bark. And, between these trees a little way's from him, was a narrow winding path. Leading to where, the Uchiha had no idea.

Something about that path had his full attention, and he had the feeling like he should go into it, see where it leads to, or what it leads to. His legs started moving automatically, as if they were under a spell, and he just hoped that wherever that path lead to would provide him with clothing. He shivered slightly remembering that he was nude. As his legs took him, Sasuke looked at his surroundings. The unearthly glow of the sunlight casted shadows from the trees and made their gem-like bark shine different hues. They were pine trees, he noticed absentmindedly.

Movement ahead had his head turning to look in front of him, and he saw… well, he wasn't sure what he saw. It looked like an animal of some sort, for sure, almost a wolf, if it wasn't made of translucent matter. The raven blinked twice as he tried to focus on the entity, but before he could, it ran off into the forest surrounding him. _What was that? _He wondered.

A few minutes passed until the dirt path he was trotting on gave away to a torch-lit stone path. The torches seemed to be floating in mid air, with nothing to support themselves on, and they flickered from their normal colour to purple as soon as he stepped on the stone. His eyes widened slightly as this happened. Oddly, the eerie violet lighting resembled his chakra. Was it coincidence? Or was it simply that they changed colours every now and then? There were many possibilities that Sasuke could think of, but he was almost sure that they were supposed to change to the colour of the chakra of the person walking down the passageway.

The stone road lasted a few minutes, until it opened up to a cavern, with the same torches that flickered to purple as he entered. The entrance seemed to block up as soon as he stepped in. The Uchiha's eyes traveled to the sight in front of him. There were mirrors EVERYWHERE. What they were for was unknown to the raven, apart of the usual usefulness of gazing at yourself. _Useless. _He thought.

'_It is far from useless, Sasuke.' _

Sasuke made a small start and looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice that just contradicted him.

'_It's of no use looking around you, for I cannot be seen.'_

The Uchiha scowled at that statement.

_Then who –or what- the hell are you? _

'_First of all, I wouldn't use such vile language in the afterlife, and second, I suppose I am your voice of reason and guidance.'_

'Voice of reason and guidance', huh? The raven scoffed; what would a voice of guidance be any good to him? Also, why was it that this voice seemed vaguely familiar? He wouldn't dwell on it. The voice spoke again.

'_You know that you're in the afterlife, that much is certain, but do you know what this place is?'_

No, Sasuke didn't know what this place was. Perhaps a voice of guidance would be good for him.

'_This is the Mirror Gate.' _

_Mirror Gate? That really helps me out here, thanks. _Sasuke replied coolly, in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

'_That pit of water where you emerged from before was the first gate, also known as the Will Gate. It was to test and see if you had the will to move on peacefully to the afterlife, or stay in emptiness forever.' _

So, that pit of water did have some meaning to the afterlife, apart of being wasted space. So, that probably meant that there was more than one gate, seeing as this mirror-filled cavern is the second. In addition, it also provided a test for the person going through that gate. If that was so, then what was this gate's purpose?

_Then, tell me, what do I have to do to get out of here? _The Uchiha asked with his arms crossed.

'_You see those torches?' _

Of course he could see them. He nodded.

'_They reflect the colour and nature of your chakra.' _Ah! He was right after all when thinking the torches changed to resemble his chakra.

_What of it? _His tone was getting exasperated.

'_The nature of your chakra is cruel and evil, despite it having a good side. And it is tainted; you're impure, holding on to things that have passed; things that should be forgiven…' _

Oh, how right that voice was. Of course the raven was holding on to the hate that appeared in him when his family had been assassinated by Itachi, the hate for him that was then directed to Konoha and its elders. All the memories of that fateful night, and even though he says he forgave his brother, he was still mad at him; him and his family, the Sandaime Hokage and the elders, the village and the ones who lived in it. He never did put those memories behind, and even now he couldn't put them at rest.

_Why have you brought this up all of a sudden? _

'_Because you need to forgive and forget; you need to purify yourself, to take a very good look at yourself. See your own flaws and accept them, and forgive the other's flaws and mistakes, as well as your own.'_

That voice was saying he needed to purify himself? To forget and forgive? To take a look at himself? That's probably where the mirrors came in.

_And what are the mirrors for? _He asked his voice of guidance.

'_One of the mirrors leads out of the cavern, into the passageway to the next gate. However…' _The voice took a serious tone._ 'If you do not purify yourself entirely, none of the mirrors will open up to the passageway.'_

Sasuke closed his eyes in contemplation. He could not, WILL not forget those memories, especially forgive them. Never.

_Then I guess I'm staying here forever, aren't I? _

'_Don't say such things. You do not know how many souls long to pass this gate, but cannot even if they try to forgive and purify themselves. You do not know how many souls have not even past the first gate.'_

The voice was exasperated, scoldingeven. It couldn't be mad at him for stating the obvious.

_Then show me these souls. _He challenged.

An image flashed to life before him. It was the first gate; the Will gate, the pit of water. This time however, he could clearly see the souls that floated in there, the ones who didn't have the will to move on. There were in the thousands of them.

'_They can't move on; they don't have the will to.'_

The image dissipated and other souls, perhaps only hundreds, surrounded the mirrors, some were constantly bumping into their reflections.

'_You will be amongst them if you do not recognize your mistakes and forgive those of others.'_

If he were to never do those things, then he would remain a soul in this cave, gazing upon himself everywhere he looked; he would be no better than any of the ghosts in here. But, how could he forgive his past? The souls disappeared from his view.

_I don't know how I can forgive anything that has happened to me or what others have done that affect me…_

There was no answer from his voice of reason. A dark eyebrow lifted.

_Are you listening?_

Silence still. Scoffing, the raven thought _Bastard _to himself. That voice was an annoying thing.

Sasuke lifted his head to look at one of the mirrors. He never really bothered to look at himself very often when he was alive; he didn't think that looks mattered that much. However, looking at himself now, when there isn't anything else he could do, the raven found himself contemplating every aspect of his body. He had his mother's face, eyes and hair, even a perfectly matching skin tone. He had straight nose that turned slightly upwards towards the end, but not overly so. His eyes were sharp, surrounded by thick and dark lashes as well as accentuated by thin black eyebrows. His lips were… well, upon close inspection, full and plump, but always set in a grim line that made them appear thinner.

His jaw line was, unlike his father's, softly curving. His neck was long and delicate looking, set upon strong shoulders. His arms were littered with a few scars here and there, his hands were big however not bulky; he had thin fingers. The raven's chest was well built and more scars marred his complexion. His eyes travelled past his privacy and settled on his long, lean legs ended by long, nimble feet. He turned slightly around and spied his back. It was strong; his spine didn't show much and was also full of scars.

Why did he neglect looking upon his dignity, even he wasn't so sure himself. It was normal to analyse your body, even the parts that you feel disgusting when looking at them. But, it is normal, so why not take a peek? Obsidian eyes looked at his sleeping shaft, dangling between his legs accompanied by his ball sac. Before he had died, the hair that had been there had been shaved, so he saw only his privates.

Sasuke remembered that sometimes during the early stages of puberty, unfortunately when living in Orochimaru's hideout, he would wake up abruptly during the night or early in the morning and would find his member erect and slightly aching. On top of that, his sleep wear would be soaked with a sticky and smelly substance that would leak from his slit.

Putting those thoughts aside, his gaze lingered here and there for a few more minutes, until he came up with what he assumed was a quite narcissistic thought: _I've never seen someone look this attractive…_

Yes, it was narcissistic, but he had the body of an Adonis. Now he knew why women drooled over him, why men were jealous of him, why even the straightest of men blushed at him in the bath houses.

Sasuke dimly wondered if that voice was listening to his odd thoughts.

Reaching out a hand, he touched the mirror, his reflection mimicking him. The surface rippled at his touch, like when one would throw a stone into a basin of water. The stone representing perhaps a memory, whereas the ripples would reflect how someone would feel about it. The emotions fade away with time, but the memory, the stone, is still hidden beneath the surface.

What if his family felt the same way when trying to forgive at this gate so long ago, the raven wondered. What if what he was feeling was what other souls were going through? It was like a numb sensation, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His other white hand reached out to another one of his reflections, with the same outcome. If he wanted out, he had to forgive.

The truth is, yes, he wants to forgive, but it always brought back unwanted memories, tears to his eyes that he would force down and pain in his heart. That voice… did it know what he was going through? Did it know that making him do this is like putting him through hell? Heck, even hell would be better than this. Why couldn't he have just been thrown into the underworld and be given punishment every day for the rest of eternity? He was surprised to being able to roam through the heavens.

To forgive… would it be worth it in the end? Yes, he would be able to see his family again, he would know how he died, he would maybe live a happy eternity as a soul, or perhaps go and haunt Naruto for the rest of his days. The thought made a small smile come to his lips. But, was the fox boy even alive? He could be dead right now and Sasuke didn't even know.

Perhaps it would be for the better after all, if those memories were thought about one after the other and seen to.

_-In the mortal world-_

Tsunade finished embalming the young man. Poor kid, a blade through the stomach; a painful death indeed. What was his name again? She read the tag on his foot. Ah yes, Senji. Only 22 years old. He isn't the only one to have died in the war.

The Hokage got a look at her next 'client'.

Ah… that's right. Him.

The woman removed the white sheet that covered his body. He was even paler than when he was alive; he no longer had that porcelain, milky complexion, but a chalky white instead. His once beautiful raven hair now lay lifeless against the steel table.

Last Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke, dead.

Tsunade sighed as she recalled the tears that stained Naruto's and Sakura's faces as everyone did their best in trying to save the boy from imminent death, to no avail. He was too wounded, had lost too much blood, had run low on chakra; it had been hopeless.

And now she was here, about to rid the boy of organs and prepare him for his funeral. It would be a traditional Uchiha funeral in his honour; the blond fox would have it no other way. The woman's pupil even went as far as digging through the remains of the Uchiha household to find ceremonial robes, in white of course.

The robe had been brought in not too long ago. She would put it on him, conceal his chalky skin with a layer of makeup and cover his eyes with a white satin cloth.

Sighing one last time, she began to work.

_-Heaven-_

For hours, maybe even days, Sasuke sat, eyes closed on the cold ground of the cavern, only illuminated by the firelight of his chakra. He didn't know if it had changed colour or not, he hadn't opened his eyes ever since he sat down and thought. The silence in the cavern was broken every now and then by soft sobs and whimpers.

The raven had tried to keep his emotions at bay, but failed miserably. In no time at all, tears had welled up in his eyes and had fallen to the stone below. He hoped that his pesky 'voice of reason' was happy with seeing him like this; shaking and sobbing in the dark like a lost little child that's whining for his mother.

After making his resolve on trying to do as his voice told him to, Sasuke thought back on his life, one memory at a time, analysing each one, forgiving what needed to be forgiven, accepting the fates of both his kin and himself, seeing the wrongs of others and thinking about his own. All these things and more. He was 'purifying' himself as the voice of reason had put it.

Shisui's death, the clan massacre, his brother, his lies, his parents, their lies, himself, lying to himself… He had never really lived now that he thought back on it. All of the nine years after the killings, he had been unemotional, bent on revenge, he had become an adult at the age of seven. He wished he could have experienced what it was really like, having a good childhood, have his teenage years, to have been able to live long enough to become an adult. How would it have been, if his family hadn't planned a coup d'état, if his brother was not given the mission of their assassinations, if he had not been left alone to fend for himself all those years, hearing the pity filled whispers from the villagers that crossed his path?

It would've been wonderful.

A sad smile graced his lips for a moment, and then it was gone.

There was a difference in the air around the raven. It had gotten warmer, slightly brighter as well. Opening his eyes, Sasuke could see why.

The torches were blue.

Something told him that he should get up, look around. That's what he did. The young Uchiha slowly stood up, taking slow and steady steps among the many mirrors that filled the vast cavern. He looked at each one, but he kept walking. He stopped.

His gaze met his reflections', and he stood still for a moment, taking himself in. He could see that his eyes had gotten slightly red and swollen, and his cheeks were still damp from his tears. Something tugged at his insides… The mirror… It was so captivating.

His hand went to touch the clear glass, but this time, it didn't ripple, because there was nothing there.

Ebony eyes widened as realization struck Sasuke.

He slipped silently into the mirror, into another cave, flooded with light.

'_So you have forgiven at last, Sasuke.'_

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T. B.C.

Few, so much detail… I'm so into this story right now, it'll be one of my best, I can feel it! So, how did Sasuke die? Mwuahahaha, only I hold the answer! I have all the power! *Ahem* Please review. I mean it. Or else no new chapter. I'm serious. Review.


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